I don’t know anything about civilian non-armed intervention, or how it works and in what circumstances, but it seems to me in regard to the recent hostage event in Martin Place, such an option might have been very useful.(more…)

It is now fifty years since Martin Luther King wrote his letter from a Birmingham Jail. He writes, “You are quite right to call for negotiation. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor”.(more…)

That seems to be the motto of some climate change contrarians. What is the critical evidence in question? Mean surface temperature, accuracy of the climate models and climate sensitivity seem be major points of contention.

Following the appalling massacre of school children and their teachers, who selflessly sought to protect them, in Connecticut, the National Rifle Association has unilaterally declared a ban on “semi-automatic assault weapons” and ammunition must not be considered.(more…)